New Toyota Supra Smokes Boring Toyota Image With Reckless Abandon

When racing CEO Akio Toyoda called “for more emotional styling and vehicles that are more fun to drive,” the edict was translated into a simple mission statement for the formidable Toyota/Lexus automotive colossus. “No more boring cars!”

Slicked up new Camry, Corolla and Prius models, the kid-racer GT 86 coupe, and the Lexus F-Type sport series, have carried the message to the marketplace. But the new, Fast & Furious immortalized Toyota Supra is seen as the linchpin of the “sell excitement” strategy.

The Toyota FT-1 concept Detroit Auto Show debut in 2014 signaled the Supra comeback after two decades was on deck.

Just previewed for the motor press ahead of a July appearance in the showrooms, the $50,000 base-priced lean and low-slung Toyota Supra coupe is a show stopper. The exterior styling is bold and edgy, taking cues from the tuner-crowd and their aftermarket styling kits, with maverick road manners to match.

Toyota left parochial thinking behind, sourcing an inline turbo-charged 6 cylinder 335 horsepower engine from BMW, and producing the $50,000-base priced Supra in the Austrian Magnus-Steyer contract plant that is also making the BMW Z4.